Comcast Moving Channels to IPTV

You might want to put your location as there are channels on your list I can still tune. Though there are others I can’t.

 

That’s great news about cable card support if true.

 

It would really help others if you told us which (where) system you're on, as lineups re: IPTV have varied from different Comcast systems/regions. As has been noted in other threads, most other systems still have at least some of these channels you listed, as STILL being available in QAM - for example, our systems in IL still offer WGN-A HD, Cooking HD, CSPAN HD, DIY HD & Sundance (SD) in QAM to this day.

That being said, it should be noted that most of the channels you've listed, were not "moved" to IPTV...but rather when they (very recently) added HD versions of most of these existing (SD) channels, they were added as IP-only; the SD versions continue to be available in QAM.
As has also been mentioned...it doesn't mean there, in fact, won't be other (existing) channels moving to IPTV...particularly (HD) channels in higher package tiers.
BUT as an exception to "all new channels being put on IP-only"...when Comcast recently added Marquee Network, they added BOTH SD & HD feeds in QAM, likely due to it being on all packages above limited basic & needing to be viewable on legacy/DTA boxes, per their carriage agreement.

 

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I am still getting these on my TIVOs in South Florida, at least I am for now. Hoping they don't start moving them here. I only use TIVOs I do not care for the XI UI. If they start moving channels I watch to IPTV here in my area is when I drop the video service and move to internet-only service. But it's not a concern here yet, so all good.

 

Big, if true. @NashGuy have you read this anywhere?

 

What I hear from that statement is that it means that Comcast has agreed that as long as they deliver content via linear QAM that they will do so in a way that supports CableCARD usage. Which is exactly what the FCC stated that they expected when they dropped the CableCARD mandates. Such an agreement says nothing about whether any specific content is delivered via linear QAM or IPTV. So, in essence, same as before.

 

“The companies signed a 15-year licensing program for pay TV, dating to the expiration of their prior agreement, that supports Xperi’s core pay-TV licensing program revenue through early 2031, said CEO Jon Kirchner on a Q3 call Monday.”

the 2031 date is the end of the licensing revenue agreement between the 2 companies and the 15 years is retroactive to 2016 when the previous agreement betweeen TiVo and Comcast expired.

It looks like it has nothing to do with cable card support. I can see cc support lasting a few years yet but not 10 years. That was a red flag to me. The other red flag was the source was customer service. Nevermind that some cable companies are already moving channels to IP. A 3rd red flag.

btw I discovered today that my cable company Midco (partly owned by Comcast) has a Midco IPTV service in a town 4 hrs away but not in my town yet. It does look like, ok it is a TiVo Androidtv solution. Peanut shaped remote and TiVo guy give it away. They also have started laying fiber internet in some small towns with up/down speeds up to 5gbps.

 

I think your interpretation is, unfortunately, spot-on.

 

When I went through the list, I actually found most, but not all, of the channels on the list in my area had been “moved” to IPTV as I used to get them and no longer do. They happen to be channels I do not watch, so I hadn’t noticed.

 

TiVo's STBs for MSOs can take advantage of the Operator Tier Android TV service, and (at least for recent devices) Android TV is an option for MSOs rather than the classic UI on the devices they deploy. Running Android TV opens up a wide range of potential future apps if the MSO so chooses to enable them for their customers (and reportedly some have done so). However, the Operator Tier is not available to consumer Android TV devices.

 

And at this point that is to be mostly expected due to the simple economics of bandwidth with (linear QAM) broadcast vs (IPTV) unicast with the current node densities and expected viewership for each channel. It should be noted that Comcast will make market specific choices (using the original posted list as an example, we know the the Pac12 channel is linear QAM in the markets where those teams are located, and IPTV in others).

 

Typically you have been notified, but you have to actually read the entire bill, including the small print on some further page (the pages almost no one ever reads) that includes additional information and upcoming changes. Comcast has used words such as "IP" or "Compatible equipment required" in every case for every channel that has been moved in my market (sometimes many many months before the change), although as I recall the exact wording has been modified over time, presumably due to feedback.

 

Found this in the Additional Information section of my 11/17/2018 Comcast Bill:

 

Will TiVo ever support IPTV?

 

It’s unlikely. Tivo and Comcast were working on a solution a number of years ago, but nothing came of it. Then Tivo sued Comcast so that probably ended whatever cooperation they had at the time. That law suit was recently settled, but it’s probably too late.

I think the best you can hope for is for Comcast to make an app available for Tivo, like they do for Roku and Samsung, but even that is likely a long shot considering how few Tivo users there are.

 

Unless TiVo agrees to pay Comcast a lot of money to do the development and likely reduces the licensing fees they just agreed to. Which seems highly unlikely, as TiVo's priorities are no longer the historical classic DVR (if you visit their lobby, the large screens promote their MSO consumer intelligence platform, not the consumer TiVo ("he's dead, Jim")) The best way to make TiVo understand your requirements is to cancel your TiVo subscription, along with a few million of your social media friends, and when asked why, explain that they did not offier a Comcast IPTV app.